Proposed single budget for health and social care has faced “institutional resistance,” MPs are told

An independent commission that called for radical reform of health and social care and more funding has faced “institutional resistance,” its leader had told MPs.

Kate Barker, a business economist at the King’s Fund, chaired a review published in September1 that said England should move to a single ringfenced budget for health and social care, with a single commissioner to simplify procedures and rescue a social care system in danger of collapse. She was questioned about the commission’s findings by the Commons health select committee on 18 November.

The independent commission recommended that social care should be provided free at the point of use for more people and paid for by tax and welfare changes that would affect middle aged and elderly people. It estimated that providing free social care for all people whose needs …